So if rebalancing, new content and new engine, the exact things people are always wanting, are the things they shouldn't start, then what exactly is it they're supposed ot be working on? Other games and disregard AO?
Since you have a team of several people with different expertise, something that people seem to disregard every single time this same old discussion comes up, you HAVE to work on multiple things at a time. You have to have the content designers working on new content, you have to have the gameplay designers who're doubling for content designers, work on rebalancing and new items, you have to have the coder working on integrating the new ideas the designers come up with and you have to have the artists working on all the other things at the same time. If you don't, you're treading water with half the team standing still, because it's simply not possible to have so many people working on every single small task. This is basic team management.